European agriculture practices greatly affected the New England landscape, leaving behind many physical foot prints. Colonists brou^it livestock over from Europe which causcd many changes to the land. Grazing animals required a lot of land and food to sustain them and due to grazing, native grasses were destroyed and European species began to replace them. New species of weeds were introduced and began to thrive as they were capable of withstanding the grazing of animals, whereas native species could not.

Along with livestock changing the plant species in New England from the original native species to European species they also contributed to the deterioration of the forests and fields. Colonists would cut down the trees and then allow their cattle and livestock to graze freely in the forest and never plant more trees. The animals trampled and tore up the ground so much as to cause long-term destruction and damage.

Soil exhaustion was a huge problem in New En^and agriculture. Plowing with oxen did allow the colonist to farm more land but it did increase erosion and decreased soils fertility. Due to the plow cutting deep into the soil and allowing the soil more contact with oxygen and depletii^ it’s nutrients. Wth the large amounts of cattle on the New England landscape the soil was being compacted due to the weight of the cattle and this didn’t give the soil enough oxygen to sustain life.

In the U.S.，farms spread from the colonies westward along with the settlers. In cooler regions, wheat was often the crop of choice when lands were newly settled, leading to a “wheat frontier’，that moved westward over the course of years. Also very common in the antebellum Midwest was fanning com while raising hogs, complementing each other especially since it was difficult to get grain to market before the canals and railroads. After the “wheat frontier” had passed throu^i an area, more diversified farms including dairy cattle generally took its place. Warmer regions saw plantings of cotton and herds of beef cattle. In the early colonial south, raising tobacco and cotton was common, especially through the use of slave labor until the Civil War. In the northeast, slaves were used in agriculture undl the early 19th century. In the Midwest, slavery was prohibited by the Freedom Ordinance of 1787.

Questions for Discussion

1.Which two states are geogrq>hically separated from the other 48 states?

2.What are the three basic areas into which the continental United States can be divided? .What are the general characters of the Rocky Mountains?

3.Which area has the hi^iest rainfall in the U.S. ?

4.Do you think that American economy mainly rested on its geography? Explain.